Poster from TMDB
Film · TMDB
7.4Historical evocation of Ludwig, king of Bavaria, from his crowning in 1864 until his death in 1886, as a romantic hero. Fan of Richard Wagner, betrayed by him, in love with his cousin Elisabeth of Austria, abandoned by her, tormented by his homosexuality, he will little by little slip towards madness.
Released: 1973-03-07239 minDir: Luchino ViscontiDrama, HistoryBudget: $12.0M
▶ Watch trailerStream on: Sky Go, Sky X
Cast
- Helmut Berger as Ludwig
- Romy Schneider as Elisabeth of Austria
- Trevor Howard as Richard Wagner
- Silvana Mangano as Cosima von Bülow
- Gert Fröbe as Father Hoffmann
- Helmut Griem as Dürckheim
Themes
~12 min read
Article
Ludwig (German: Ludwig II.) is a 1973 epic biographical drama film co-written and directed by Luchino Visconti. The film stars Helmut Berger as King Ludwig II of Bavaria and Romy Schneider as Empress Elisabeth of Austria, along with Trevor Howard, Silvana Mangano, Helmut Griem, and Gert Fröbe. It is the third and final part of Visconti's "German Trilogy", following The Damned (1969) and Death in Venice (1971).
An international co-production by Italian producer Ugo Santalucia and West German producer Dieter Geissler [de], Ludwig was one of the most expensive European films at the time, and was a moderate success in its home territories, but was more lukewarmly received in the United States, where a heavily truncated 177-minute version was released. It was filmed in Munich and surrounding parts of Bavaria, and at Cinecittà Studios.